Selling Out

[sawyl]

In preparation for the forthcoming release of Justina Robson's third Quantum Gravity novel later in fall, I've finally managed to find time to read the second book, Selling Out. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get round to reading it but, having now done so, I cursed myself for a fool for not reading it sooner. Here are a few brief thoughts.

Three days have passed since her return from Alfheim and Lila Black's bosses at Incon now know that Zal, the elven rock star, has managed to combine his spirit with that of a demon. Worried that Zal might use his abilities to widen flaws in the fabric that holds the worlds together, Incon decide to send Lila to Demonia to uncover the method of hybridisation.

After a few uneventful in Demonia under the tutelage of Zal's adopted sister Sorcha, Lila finds herself plunged into confusion when an unknown demon attempts to kill her. After retaliating in kind, she discovers that the demon is the brother of the best assassin in Demonia and, oddly, that the assassin seems to be far more interested in flirting with a half-human half-cyborg spook than is in doing any actual murdering. After learning that Zal only achieved enlightenment by travelling through hell, Lila tries to do the same, only to learn that hell isn't a separate place but rather a state of mind.

Glancing back at my thoughts on the first book, I'm surprised by how well they accord with my thoughts on Selling Out. Not because I had any doubts about Robson's consistent ability to deliver exciting and thoughtful novels, but rather because I thought that my notoriously fickle views would have changed in the two years since I read the first book.

The settings in Selling Out are every bit as good its predecessor. The world of the demons is wonderfully well described, from its over-the-top architecture to its bizarre political system — the realm is run by demons aged between 10 and 19, with everyone over the age of 19, being too willful for government, devoting themselves to the pleasures of boredom through excess. The demons themselves are suitably quirky, committing to feuds at the drop of a hat, acting to please themselves, but always sticking to the letter of any agreement. The demons also provide a particularly fine source of humour, from the wisecracking imp who attaches himself to Lila to the fact that the entrance to the demon world is through a 24 hour branch of Ikea.

Philosophically, the novel expands on some of the themes of identity and humanity raised by its predecessor. As events unfold, Lila finds herself confronted by difficult questions about the nature of her loyalty to Incon, which may be real or may be induced, and whether her spooky agency bosses have a method of remote control that might leave her trapped like a ghost in the machine. Extra insight into her condition comes via Tath, a dead elf whose spirit was accidentally entangled with Lila's during the mission to Alfheim, who is acutely aware of what it means to be trapped in the shell of another person.

All the characters are enjoyable, with Lila and Zal particularly convincing. There is a particularly fine section where Lila finds herself forced to examine her motivations for becoming, first a diplomat and then a spy, and as she does so, some of the oddities of her character — her hard-charging attitude, her impulsiveness, her uncertainty despite her physical abilities — are explained. Zal is an infuriatingly good combination of flaky muso and insightful former spy, frequently getting distracted at just the wrong moment, only to have things turn out to his advantage in the end.

In summary, then, Selling Out is an excellent successor to Keeping It Real. If anything, it might even be better.